Pumpkins, prosecco, face painting and prayers on the Paddocks estate

From prosecco and face painting, to singing in a pub or holding an open-air candlelit vigil, life has been anything but dull for the Revd Mary Rolls since she was appointed as a Multiply minister in Thirsk last April to reach out to local people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Having been told by local parents that Halloween was the biggest event on her local estate, Mary decided to join with the local mums who wanted to organize something a little different. “We called the event ‘Paddocks Pumpkins’, just trying to take a gentle steer away from Halloween even though it was obviously taking place that evening,” said Mary.

“I did feel that I was walking a bit of a tightrope because of obvious anxieties but locals said it was the biggest thing of the year and it would be great to do something for it. So, on the green in the middle of the estate we had crafts, played glowstick quoits, and we offered free hotdogs and hot chocolate, and I got to work with the local mums.” Top picture: fun at Paddocks Pumpkins.

Two evenings later, the same green was the scene of a moving All Souls evening with prayers and candles and a large candlelit cross “We were there for about an hour, there was worship music in the background and some very interesting conversations. It was very, very visible and tapped into a spirituality as people lit candles.” As a result, Mary and husband Rob have been invited into local homes and had lots of conversations.

It’s not the first initiative on the estate says Mary. “Since we moved here we have done successive things on the estate and it helps demonstrate faithfulness to being here and starting to build trust.”

Among many other things, Mary now goes along to the local ‘tots’ groups to chat with young parents, and has been involved in the launch a ‘drop in, drop off, coffee morning for as many as thirty parents at South Kilvington.

Meanwhile, working in partnership with other churches, Mary is planning a marriage course, starting in January. And with her husband, Rob, she has started a 20 strong choir which meets in the local pub, the Frankland Arms, and will be singing at Christmas in partnership with the Salvation Army pioneers. Second picture: the choir rehearsing at the Frankland Arms.

Just a few months into her pioneering ministry Mary describes this side of her work as ‘incarnational’. “It’s almost testing how you do incarnational ministry, making contacts with people and being a regular, faithful presence.

Meeting people, making connections, isn’t hard – the challenge is how you introduce the gospel in those situations.”
One key ingredient has been hospitality. Recently, says Mary (3rd picture), “we held a ‘pudding and prosecco’ evening at our house for about 20 local ladies to talk about what would be ‘the ideal church!’ A really happy bi-product of it was that those on the fringes of church were enjoying it and were really engaged in the discussion. It has really encouraged me as we think about how we disciple the 20s to 40s who are already in church in a really meaningful way.”

What is ‘Multiply’?

Mary was one of the first ‘Multiply’ ministers to be appointed in the Diocese of York, starting in April 2019. Thanks to national funding, fourteen ordained or lay specialist ministers are being appointed in thirteen locations as part of the diocese’s strategy to reach those in their 20s to 40s, under-represented in the life of the church. So far eleven ministers have been appointed with two more, Jake and Hannah Madin, being licensed in Scarborough later this month.

The ‘ripple’ effect

Part of the Multiply strategy is that the work of the 20s to 40s ministers will ‘ripple’ out to other churches and already Mary’s work is creating ripples across a much wider area.

Whether she is preaching in the four Thirsk churches, or her nearest church at Sowerby, or churches in the deanery, Mary is keen to share the encouraging stories as well as reminding the wider church of the 20s to 40s ministry and its importance. Across the Mowbray Deanery, Mary is working with the Revd Dave Johnson, another 20s to 40s minister in Northallerton, holding training days and conversations with local people in preparation for the Archbishop’s ‘Come and See’ mission in March 2020.

“A great strength of the way this ministry has been established is that we are embedded in the parish. So, the big question mark is what a new worshipping community is going to look like. But a healthy outcome of all this work is that it won’t just be about 20s to 40s but will be across the generations.”

Find out more at
www.thirskparishes.org
multiplyreach.org